The NISSART dialect (“Nissart” means “from Nice” in nissart) is a language with a long tradition and which is derived from Latin by the influence of the Romans. The Nissart (or « Niçard ») is an Occitan dialect spoken in the area around the city of Nice, the former County of Nice. Even though French is the official language since the annexation of Nice to France in 1860 (yes, even the Caribbean island of Guadeloupe is part of France for longer than the city of Nice…), the Nissart remains a living language, still spoken by several dozens of thousands of people and again taught in schools.

However, while walking down the streets of Nice, you have to look for these details related to the Nissartitude, and you have to keep your eyes open... So, I would like to take you to some places that show you either remains of the Nissart language, or specific characteristics from Nice.

Yes, to validate this virtual cache, it will be necessary to visit several places in old town of Nice. This is what all visitors do anyway, and by this cache I would like you to discover some details, often unknown, that you might not have noticed otherwise. There is no specific order for visiting the waypoints, you can walk through Nice at your convenience and you do not have to visit the different places within the same day. Feel free to click on the links for more information. Also, I highly recommend the series "Vieux Nice" by Pouille, a series of multi caches that shows you even more secrets of Old Nice.

1) Bilingual street sign. You probably noticed already, everywhere in the Old Nice, the names of the streets are written in Nissart and in French. The sign in front of the cathedral is just one example among many.
⇒ Please take your geocaching photo with the street sign.

2) Menica Rondelly. Menica Rondelly was a writer and poet from Nice and the author of the (unofficial) regional anthem of Nice and the County of Nice, "Nissa la bella" (“Nice the Beautiful”). Here, we pay tribute to him.
⇒ Please take your geocaching photo with the monument.

3) Cannon ball. The cannon ball suspended on this corner was pulled by the Turkish fleet that attacked the city in 1543. A panel in Nissart recalls this historic moment.
⇒ Please take your geocaching photo with the cannon ball.

4) Our heroïne. Her existence is sometimes disputed, but in Nice we want to believe in her: Catarina Segurana, a "bugadiera" (washerwomen) nissarde who is supposed having killed a Turkish commander to tear his flag and to then throw it into the sea. According to some sources, she would have knocked out several Turkish fighters and thus contributed to push back the enemy. Here is the monument dedicated to our "eroïna nissarda".
⇒ Please take your geocaching photo with Catarina.

5) The poet. Joseph-Rosalinde Rancher was a writer from Nice who composed poems and songs in Nissart. Also, he studied his mother tongue to compare the kinship of Oc languages. On the Tour Bellanda (“Bellanda Tower”) you will find one of his poems.
⇒ Please take your geocaching photo with the poem. This waypoint is NOT available 24/24. The opening hours are mentioned in the "Additional Waypoints" section.

6) Coat of arms. The County of Nice (Countea de Nissa) is an old state of Savoy, founded in 1388, as part of the War of Provence, by the Dedication of Nice to Savoy. The flag, a red eagle on a white background, installed on three mountains bordered by a stylized sea, is still the official flag / coat of arms of the City of Nice. Look up to find a Nice eagle on the wall.
⇒ Please take your geocaching photo with the coat of arms.

7) Postal system. In the past, the streets of Nice did not have names. Each block of houses
("îlot" = “islet”) was dedicated to a saint. To find an address, people just needed to find the representation of the relevant saint who was present on all corners of the “îlot“. Today, there are very few traces of this system, but here you can admire one. If you are interested, I found 4 of them, I can send you further waypoint coordinates by e-mail.
⇒ Please take your geocaching photo with Saint Christopher.

8) The currency. From December 13 to 16, 2017, people could exchange 1 : 1 Euro to the local Nice currency which - obviously - is called NISSART. The goal is to install a complementary local currency valid in the stores, restaurants and artisan craft shops of Nice. Currently, the currency is in a test period, and will be valid for 1 year. (I will update this description based on upcoming events.) In this shop, the Nissart will be available and accepted. No need to enter the store, or to go get Nissarts, just go to the store that displays "Aquì si paga in Nissarts" ("here we pay in Nissart") visible only when it's open ...
⇒ Please take your geocaching photo in front of the shop.

9) The tram. The artiste Ben - known for his "writings" - created the nameplates of the 42 stations of the first line of the tram of Nice. Also, he placed some of his writings in white on black on all the stations. At Garibaldi station, at the indicated coordinates (direction Henri Sappia), you will find a "writing" in Nissart that I like a lot.
⇒ Please send me an e-mail or a message through the message center with the text of this "writing" of Ben and propose me a translation (in French, English or German). Hint: the writings of Ben all look alike, it's just the text or the color which change. You are looking for an artwork similar to the background image of this cache.
⇒ DO NOT post a picture of this place on the Geocaching website!

Please note. To validate your find, you need to answer one question (waypoint "9 / W9", reply to be sent to me by e-mail), and you have to take 8 pictures (or more, if you want, EXCEPT for the waypoint "9 / W9 "). For all photos, please ensure that your photo is a "geocaching photo", which means a photo you have taken to validate this virtual cache. In the photo, it is required that your GPS is visible, or any another element related to you and geocaching (your nickname written on your hand, your TB which follows you everywhere, your GC mascot, your GC logo on a flag, or something else - be creative ...). Obviously, you too can be shown on the photo, but this is optional. No team photos, please. One photo = one log. I do not like doing this, but it is unfortunately necessary: Any log without sending e-mail / message and without photos (or with invalid photos) will be deleted.
Enjoy and have fun.

Virtual Reward - 2017/2018

This Virtual Cache is part of a limited release of Virtuals created between August 24, 2017 and August 24, 2018. Only 4,000 cache owners were given the opportunity to hide a Virtual Cache. Learn more about Virtual Rewards on the Geocaching Blog.

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